So Much
by mysecretisfatallygorgeous
Summary: A day in the life of Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger as they continue to keep a secret from everyone at Hogwarts, always having a 'one minute to midnight' approach to their relationship, which could quite possibily cause all of hell to break loose.


Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Harry Potter!

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If you've looked at my profile you can see that I mostly write DBZ fics but I hardly read those anymore. I've been stuck on HP for a long time now. So I decided to try a HP fic. Go out of bounds a little, haha. Little background, let's see...we'll say seventh year, spring time, Voldemort's gone. I tried to keep it as canon (maybe not as in character as some people would like, sorry!) as possible anyway, don't ask me why. Minus the one thing that I put in here that was in the movie not the book. Tried not to bring up anyone who might be dead (Colin, and yes, he originally did come up) Um, there's nothing really too specific in here, I mean, it's just a one-shot. I just wanted to try a DM/HG fanfic (and actually FINISH it) and to have some fun! Blah, I'm going to quit talking. Either you hate it or you actually like it (I know that thought surprises me too)

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Harry was looking for Hermione. She had mentioned yesterday how she needed to catch up on some homework when he had brought up the topic of a pick up Quidditch game between several Quidditch players between all the four houses that he wanted her to come and watch. So, being the good friend he was, he decided to persuade her to ditch the homework and instead watch the Quidditch game, but he hadn't been able to find her thus far. He had looked all over Gryffindor Tower and had asked everyone he knew if they had seen her. All replies had come back negative meaning no one had seen her that day. It was a Saturday though so someone surely must have seen her and it was still early so he thought that maybe she was still asleep. But that was unusual for Hermione because she always woke up early. So he had gone down to the Great Hall, again asking everyone he saw if they knew where Hermione was, and the answer was still the same; no sign of her. So he had sat down for breakfast like everyone else, expecting to see Hermione there at the table at some point, but she never showed.

That brings us to the present where Harry was walking out the doors toward the courtyard where he spotted Hermione's familiar form. She was standing with her back towards him standing in front of a bench next to a pillar. The odd thing was is that she seemed to be talking to someone that stood on the other side of the bench, hidden by the pillar. Harry made his way over to her and was startled when the pillar revealed who she was talking to. It was Draco Malfoy. Malfoy had stopped mid-sentence, mid-whisper actually, and his eyes went from Hermione's eyes to Harry's own surprised eyes. Malfoy wasn't sneering at him, or glaring at him, or doing anything rude, he was just staring at him indifferently as if waiting for him to speak. Harry could only stare back dumbfounded as Hermione was now turning to look at him as well.

"Harry, did you need something?"

Harry looked at Hermione now and opened his mouth to reply to her but no sound came out. Hermione raised her eyebrows slightly as she turned sideways to stare at him better, silently asking him to continue (almost impatiently asking him), but he couldn't! His eyes were now on Malfoy again and he had the exact same look on his face as Hermione did.

"All right there, Potter?"

Harry could only stare at Malfoy as he spoke. All he could think was: Someone has jinxed me, I know it. That's why I can't talk. Someone wants to make a fool out of me. Well, that was a good sign, Harry Potter could actually think again. He just needed to work on speaking now. Hermione was studying him curiously now, giving Malfoy worried glances out of the corner of her eye. Malfoy shrugged at her and caught her elbow as she studied Harry some more. He pulled her towards himself and whispered something in her ear, which Hermione nodded very slightly at. Malfoy squeezed her elbow and was off through the courtyard and through the doors.

"Harry, what is the matter with you?"

Harry was still staring at Hermione, willing himself to speak. "Uhhhm..." He thought he might as well be drooling as he gained control of his voice again. Hermione scowled at him and slugged his arm and he winced at the slight pain.

"Sorry, Hermione. I don't know what happened. I guess seeing you talk to Malfoy kind of threw me off."

"Well, obviously. You stared at us like an idiot for about five minutes."

"Very sorry. Honestly, Hermione, I've forgotten why I was searching for you. Maybe if I go back to the common room I'll be able to remember."

Hermione shook her head at him and patted his shoulder comfortingly, "Don't worry about it, Harry. I'm sure it will come to you." And with that last word, she was gone, off across the courtyard and through the doors, just as Malfoy had left.

Something seemed a little suspicious. Harry's brain was still going in slow motion but was quickly picking up speed. She hadn't denied she had been talking to Malfoy and she had left before he could have even questioned her about it. She hadn't explained anything to him and then she had just left, following the path that Malfoy had taken. What was going on? Hermione was talking to Malfoy away from anyone else; when did that ever happen? Harry tried to think of examples but discovered none. Of course if Hermione was going around talking to Malfoy when there was no one else around, how would Harry know about it? He wouldn't; so he tried to think of a time when Hermione had talked to Malfoy with others around them. That still left Harry with no answers. If Hermione and Malfoy ever talked it was always some a confrontation that Malfoy started against him or Ron. Now that Harry thought about it more, Malfoy had cut back on his crude remarks concerning Hermione. And now that Harry thought about it more Malfoy had actually been halfway decent to Hermione this year. And as Harry thought about it even more, his normal crude and horrible jokes to him and Ron weren't all quite as crude and horrible as they used to be.

In fact! Malfoy hadn't been all that rude to Harry or Ron that year at all! Malfoy would make remarks like, "Here comes the infamous Potter, wizarding hero and of course the Weasley King" and he would bow sometimes as well and his remarks were always said so condescendingly. They would leave class and Malfoy would just have to comment on how the "only reason they ever passed exams was because of Granger" and that they should "find some new girl to get all the answers from and quit hogging Granger" and how they probably needed her to help them with their "problems beneath the sheets." He also said that he would "bet his life that Granger wouldn't help them on that problem." Ron, the hot head that he always was, had blown up at that point and said, "How do you know she hasn't already?" That comment had of course made Malfoy laugh for close to five minutes until he was almost crying. While Malfoy was laughing, Hermione had been beating Ron over the head with the two books she held in her hands declaring things like, "Why would you say something like that? Why would you ever infer something like that happened? Honestly, I don't know why I put up with you and your pig-headed remarks! You really need to grow a brain cell or something Ronald because I am fed up with you sprouting nonsense and lies every time you get angry at someone! _Especially _when I am involved!" She had given him one last hard smack over the head with her thick books, adjusted her bag, gave Malfoy a wicked glare and had walked off without any of the three boys following behind her.

Malfoy had finally stopped laughing as he watched Hermione walk away and he wiped a tear from his eye, "Nice talking to you boys" he said, even though he wasn't looking at them, he was still watching Hermione walk away and then he himself walked off in the opposite direction. At that point Harry had turned to his best friend Ron and shook his head him, "Why can't you keep your mouth closed sometimes Ron? She's pissed at us now." Ron had mumbled something unintelligible and the two had walked off towards Gryffindor Tower without Hermione. They hadn't seen her again until the next morning at breakfast where she seemed to have forgiven Ron completely.

Harry had thought nothing of this incident at the time but now he thought it over more clearly Malfoy's reaction to Ron's statement could be assured as normal, but the vibe he was getting from it after rethinking the situation in his head was completely different. Harry didn't want to think about the vibe he was getting at that moment so he decided to do what he thought was the best decision at that moment: follow Hermione. He didn't know that he would be kicking himself later for this very decision.

So! Harry set off for his first destination, the library. If Hermione was planning on doing homework than surely her destination would be the library. Sure he felt bad for following his friend, but he couldn't help but be suspicious and after all he only wanted to make sure she was okay. She had been acting somewhat peculiar for a few weeks. Not all the time though, it actually seemed to be very random. She would get distracted easily, which was not like Hermione at all. She would disappear sometimes, like this morning, but she never disappeared for too long and she always had a legitimate excuse. Not that Hermione needed excuses Harry thought as he entered the library. It looked just as he thought it would: empty. And it was silent too. No quills scratching on paper, no pages being turned, creased or shuffled about. No whispers floated towards him as the door softly thudded shut. It was a librarian's wet dream; pure silence. He waved to Madam Pince who only looked at him oddly. She must have been angry that her alone time had been broken and she also must have been wondering why he was in the library. He almost went up to her to ask if she had seen Hermione come in but she had glared at him slightly as she went off to do some librarian type things which probably included smelling the pages of old worn books, caressing leather bound ones, and hugging bookshelves.

Harry could only shrug and set about searching for Hermione. There was a spot in the library with wide windows that were usually opened and, permitting beautiful weather, allowed the sunshine and natural light to flood into that side of the room, illuminating the five or six tables set up in that area. So Harry turned to his left and scanned the aisles of the bookshelves as he went, just in case she was searching for a book, but there was never any sign of any other human life in the library at all. He had finally passed the last bookshelf and found the cluster of tables underneath the windows. They were all empty. Not a sign of books, paper, or quills upon the desk that would signal that Hermione was actually there but had left. Nope. No one was here whatsoever. Harry scowled at himself and turned abruptly to leave the library, stalking past bookshelves and stomping on the carpeted floor. He realized that he hadn't seen Hermione with her book bag. If she didn't have her book bag then she wouldn't be able to do her homework. Duh, Harry! He wished he had come up with that thought earlier before he had even set foot in the library. Then he would have known to go back to Gryffindor Tower first and catch Hermione there before she had a chance to leave again.

Harry sighed angrily at himself as he stepped out of the library and took off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. He kept walking, his eyes halfway open and didn't even notice the person in front of him before he collided with them. This caused Harry to drop his glasses (and also poke himself in the eye) and he scrambled onto the ground to recover them. Harry couldn't seem to find them though until he heard the tapping of a foot that stopped his search.

"Looking for these?"

Harry knew that voice anywhere; it was Malfoy. Harry scrambled again, this time to his feet to stand before Malfoy. He looked at Malfoy warily as Malfoy offered him his glasses back. Malfoy wasn't putting up any kind of a fight to keep the glasses and he also wasn't laughing or making fun of him for losing them. Harry gently took the glasses from the other boy's outstretched hand and placed them upon his face, Malfoy's blurred form coming together clearly now.

"Uh, thanks."

"Don't mention it, Potter."

Draco readjusted the strap on his messenger bag and continued on through the doors of the library like nothing happened. Harry didn't know if he should feel accomplished or confused. Hermione wasn't the only one acting peculiar around here. Before he could even take another step away from the library a group of loud and raucous boys wearing Quidditch clothes and carrying Quidditch equipment went tearing down the hallway past him. Behind that group was another group of assorted people from different houses cheering on their Quidditch players as they too raced down the hallway. Lavender Brown stopped when she spotted Harry and went towards him.

"Harry! I've just seen Hermione! She was up in the common room. I remembered you were looking for her earlier, although I didn't get a chance to tell her, we've all been in a hurry since news spread about the pick up Quidditch game!"

"Lavender! I need my good luck kiss!"

Harry knew that as the voice of Ron. He seemed to suddenly remember that he was supposed to be playing in this spontaneous game and couldn't believe he had gotten so distracted in following Hermione. Harry had little time to run up to Gryffindor Tower to get his supplies but decided to go anyway so he could run into Hermione while he was up there. Harry was just glad that Lavender had stopped to tell him about Hermione (and also be reminded about the Quidditch game) and he was also thankful that he was only on the fourth floor. Three flights of stairs was better than seven flights of stairs.

"Lavender! Thank you! Go give Ron his good luck kiss and take your time please, I have to go run up and get my gear and I don't want the game to start without me!"

Harry might have had less stairs to traverse than the group of students but they were practically racing each other down the corridors and Quidditch gear definitely took longer than five minutes to put on. Lavender blushed at Harry's words but nodded anyway with a mischievous grin on her face as she raced off after Ron. Harry smiled after her and turned around, running as fast as he could up stairs and through hallways. He never saw Hermione once so he figured she must still be in the Tower getting her bag so she could do her homework in the library. Library, hmm...Harry felt like he was forgetting some important piece of information about the library but he couldn't quite place it as adrenaline pulsed through his veins at the excitement of the Quidditch game and the nervousness of being late to it. He practically shouted the password to the portrait, not once slowing down as he entered the Gryffindor common room (and thankfully the portrait heard him and opened, he would have been sorry and sore if it hadn't) and he raced up to his room, clumsily undressed and redressed in his Quidditch uniform (this task, in his hurried state, was completed in six minutes and thirty-seven seconds, a new personal best for Harry Potter), grabbed his broom and raced back off to the common room.

"Hermione?"

There was no sign of her. Damn it. Shit. He must have been too late. Or she might possibly still be in the girls dorm in her room. But Harry didn't have any time to spare (he did have seven flights of stairs to go down after all) so he exited through the portrait and again ran down the hallways and stairs as fast as his numbing legs would take him. He thought about Evanesco-ing one of the windows, hopping on his broom, and flying down to the Quidditch pitch so he wouldn't have to run down seven flights of stairs. This however would probably result in a detention and he did not want to have detention over the weekend. So instead he pushed himself and finally he was running through the Entrance Hall and out into the fresh spring air.

It was a beautiful day outside. The air was crisp and slightly bitter and biting with a slight wind blowing the newly blossomed wild flowers nestled in the bright green grass of the lawn, but the sun was beating down upon the earth so the wind wasn't nearly as cold as it should have been and it created the most perfect weather. Especially for a Quidditch game! Harry smiled and breathed in the clean air before settling upon his broom and taking off into the air with his fellow Quidditch players that were circling around the pitch. He wished he had caught Hermione but she was soon far from his thoughts as the game began and he decided to enjoy himself.

Hermione signed in relief as she watched the far away Quidditch game from the library window. Finally. She had managed to avoid Harry the entire time he had searched for her. It hadn't been easy. She had run into Luna Lovegood, who had been heading down to the pitch early to make sure there were no Nargles hanging around. Luna told her that Harry had been searching for her that morning at breakfast and had asked nearly everyone if they knew where she had been. Hermione had given her a thanks and mentioned that Harry had just found her moments before. Luna had then rushed off in one direction and Hermione rushed off even faster to try and get as far away from Harry as possible. She knew he had to be right behind her because he was supposed to get ready for the game and that thought made her hurry even quicker to Gryffindor Tower. It seemed like mere moments later she was in front of the Fat Lady, telling her the password and walking through the entrance and quickly walking towards the girls dorms and into her room. She took her bag from the hook it was hanging from on the back of the door and shoved extra parchment, quills and a few books she need inside before slinging it over her shoulder and hurried back into the common room.

Luckily, Harry was still not here, or she had just missed him so she stepped outside the portrait and contemplated her next move. If she went the normal route she was sure to run into Harry, or anybody else for that matter and she just wasn't in the mood. But the second route took forever and it was Saturday and a certain stairway was known to take you to the complete opposite way that you wanted to go and she would rather not get lost as she had an appointment to keep. So she stuck with the normal route but kept to peering behind corners before she stepped around them, walking on her tip-toes, peering down staircases before entering upon them and listening for any incoming footsteps. It was just before she was to pass the statue of Boris the Bewildered that she heard footsteps thundering towards her. Hermione quickly threw herself behind the statue and tried to hide herself. Whoever it was missed her entirely and kept running past her. Hermione risked a glance and spotted none other than Harry Potter himself running at a neck breaking pace away from her. He hadn't even noticed her as he was too busy hurrying off to Gryffindor Tower, she assumed. She let a smile slide onto her face before continuing on her journey towards the library.

Hermione hated hiding from her friends, avoiding them, keeping secrets, completely disappearing at times, and even showing up late to breakfast, lunch and dinner, but it was for their own good. Honestly, if they knew the truth, Hermione could only imagine the chaos. Ron would implode upon himself and then proceed to yell and rant and rave until he lost consciousness and met the cold stone floor. Harry would probably just be mad at the fact that she was keeping secrets and didn't think they were trustworthy enough to confide in. But they weren't! So it really was all their own fault. She was not to blame in this case.

She reached the library doors and entered, looking to see if Madam Pince was around. She wasn't. That made Hermione smirk. Not smile; smirk. She had purposefully left several books lying around, far, far away from their actual home on their appropriate bookshelf. Instead of turning left and walking towards her usual spot in the library Hermione went straight back heading towards the Restricted Section. She honestly wondered how Madam Pince kept the younger children from entering it. Really, a mere rope blocking off the section seemed a little futile. Instead of unfastening the rope she slid into the aisle underneath and walked towards the very back of the aisle were it met an end at a wall. She wondered why Draco never left it open for her but she assumed that he didn't want to be discovered by someone that wasn't her. Hermione turned to her right and knelt down to the very bottom shelf. There sandwiched between two books contained the book she was searching for: Who Am I? By Gilderoy Lockhart. Hermione wanted to laugh every time she used this book. She also thought that it was in the right place. Restricted indeed. She tilted the book back a couple inches and the shelf of books placed upon the wall at the end of the aisle shifted and opened for her to enter. Hermione smile as she entered the dimly lit room and found him sitting at their table on the far wall. The room wasn't much, there were a few more books, several tables to study at, but that was it. But it had become their room and that is what made it special. And she knew that all the sneaking around, hiding and lying was worth it, when he looked at her.

"Glad to see you made it. Especially in one piece."

"What do you mean in one piece?"

Hermione found the appropriate book inside the room (if you must know, the book was Voldemort's Hidden Desires by: Tom Riddle) that would slide the secret door back into place to look entirely normal and not like there was a hidden room behind a bookshelf.

"You must have just missed them. I believe they were coming from the Room of Requirement, setting up a nice little shindig for after the pick up game. Be glad you missed them, they were a very rowdy bunch of students."

"Hm, must have. I was probably already inside the common room getting my stuff. Harry nearly got me just when I was almost here but I hid behind the statue of Boris. He didn't even notice! Hah!"

Hermione sat down across from Draco and smiled at him. Draco smiled back at her before leaning over the desk and giving her a soft kiss on the lips that Hermione thought ended much too quickly as he was now settling back down into his chair. Instead of pulling her stuff out of her bag she leaned over the table and gave Draco a soft kiss, which lead to another, and another and more. Hermione pulled back after a moment and looked at Draco's smiling, peaceful face.

"Are we here to do homework or not?"

Hermione grinned at him before sitting back in her chair and gathering her supplies out of her bag. Yes, she decided that she would much rather be doing other things with her secret boyfriend that she had to hide from everyone but she knew that they had planned on finishing up homework together before the weekend was over.

"Yes, yes. We're here to do homework. And don't you forget it."

"Me? You're the one who wanted to start a snog fest."

"Yes, that might be true...but you're the one who gets distracted halfway through these sessions."

"Speaking of distractions, I think we need one for Potter."

"Uh, a distraction for Harry? What do you mean?"

"Well, you said he was following you, obviously he's suspicious. And he saw us this morning. I know we were only talking to each other but to Potter that is considered suspicious. We need to throw him off the scent or distract."

"Honestly. Throw him off the scent? Okay, we'll figure something out after our homework is finished."

And so the two set out to finish their homework so they could spend the rest of their weekend figuring out how to get Harry off their backs and spend some quality time with each other. Time seemed to be flying by as Hermione and Draco worked on their assignments, double checking answers with each other and before Hermione knew it, forty-five minutes had already passed. She felt a light tickling on her knee at that moment and she could only grin and shake her head.

"I do believe that is a record for you."

Draco seemed to not be paying attention to her and had his face still pointing down examining his homework but Hermione could see the smirk on his face. He took a soft grip on her knee, swiping his thumb across her thigh before slowly caressing further up her leg, moving back to her knee where he then proceeded to tickle the underside of her knee. Hermione let out an involuntary laugh and jerked her leg away from his hand and slammed it into the table above her. Hermione cried out in pain but she was laughing anyway.

"Oww, Draco Malfoy! You did that on purpose!"

"Aw, baby, let me kiss and make it better."

Draco then proceeded to duck down under the table to do as he said he would but Hermione let out a small scream, jumped from her chair and ran to the other side of the room before he could get to her. She looked at him, laughter waiting to erupt from her throat as he sat on his hands and knees under the table, peering at her behind her chair with a devilish smirk on his face.

"Draco Malfoy! No! We are going to finish this homework!"

"My little lion doesn't want to play?"

Hermione held back the growl that was threatening to come out, because if she did let it come out, he would only laugh and attack her, taking that as a sign of willingness when it was actually in anger. That was a lie, it would have definitely been a sign of willingness but Hermione knew they needed to finish their homework. And as hot and bothered as a mere seven words said by her boyfriend could get to Hermione she took a deep breath and willed herself to calm down and think this through. She instead counted to ten inside her head and thought of the little nickname her boyfriend had come up with. He certainly found it appropriate and Hermione couldn't help but adore it. Draco even went out of his way to get her anything lion related. She had more than enough stuffed lions, a pair of lion earrings, a pillow with a lion on it, a shirt with a lion on it that said "Roar", lion slippers, and even a pair of knickers with a cute little cartoon lion on the front. As a joke she had bought him a pair of boxers with a lion on them.

"No, she wants you to finish your homework."

Draco pouted from his position on the floor but proceeded to get up and situate himself back in his chair. Hermione decided she was safe from an ambush for now and walked back across the room and sat back down in her chair.

"On one condition."

"Hm?"

"I need a kiss."

Hermione smiled, leaned over and gave him a smile peck on his soft lips but before she could pull away he had his hand on the back of her neck keeping her there. He allowed her to pull back mere millimeters from his lips so he could grin handsomely at her.

"Or two. Or three. Maybe more."

"Drac-!"

Her shout to scold him ended up being smothered by his lips as he continued to kiss her and Hermione decided to humor him and enjoy herself. She couldn't lie and say she didn't want to kiss him; she really, really, did want to kiss him. However, their homework was still sitting on the table below them as they leaned over the table and it needed to be finished! Draco's hand caressed her neck for a moment before running up into the bottom of her hair and he rubbed her scalp; Hermione was having a hard time now extinguishing the urge to jump over the table and be in his arms. She was so distracted by him and his caresses that she hadn't even noticed he had walked around the small round table, turned her back to it and was now slowly easing her onto the table, his hand running up her left thigh and sneaking up to hide beneath her skirt where he stopped just below her bottom to rub her thigh. Hermione could hear the crinkling of their parchment and realized that now would be a good time to stop. But how? Her boyfriend just had to be so damn intoxicating. She decided to try scolding him one more time and turned her head away from his lips.

"Draco Malfoy, stop this right now."

Draco placed three wet kisses against her neck and turned her head to look at him as he once more pouted. Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes at her pouting boyfriend and pushed her hands against his chest. She hopped off the table when he stepped away and she shook her head at him, but there was still a smile on her face.

"You know better. Now, let's get back to our homework, yes?"

Draco gave a deep sigh but he smiled at her before he walked back to his side of the round table as Hermione sat back down in her chair, straightening out some of her crinkled parchments. She didn't like scolding Draco like he was a child but there was no other way she could get through to him sometimes. After all, Draco Malfoy was used to getting what he wanted. Hermione had finished her homework minutes later and began to feel kind of guilty for interrupting his fun and her fun as well. Plus! There was that Quidditch game today between all the Houses and Hermione thought that Draco would have wanted to play but he had declined in favor of finishing his homework with Hermione instead. She had been happy about that decision at the time but she knew how much Draco loved Quidditch. But he had assured her that he had made his decision and he was happy with it.

"Are you sure you're okay about not playing in the game today? I didn't want to force you to do homework with me..."

"Hermione!"

She smiled at the use of her first name. Even though they were boyfriend and girlfriend it wasn't very often that they actually did use their first names to address one another. Half the time Hermione said his full name "Draco Malfoy" instead of just "Draco" or just "Malfoy" and Draco was content to use "Granger" to refer to her.

"I promise you that I would rather be in here with you than outside playing Quidditch. I may like Quidditch but I like you much more. And...I wasn't going to tell you this but you've forced it out of me...I don't want to play Quidditch when your two friends are playing as well because...instead of cheering for me, you'll be cheering for them. I don't want you to cheer for _them_, I want you to cheer for _me_."

Hermione felt her heart swell up with some kind of emotion (she decided it must have been love) at his words. She couldn't stop the smile from forming on her face or stop herself from looking at him in pure adoration. Hermione leaped over the desk and landed directly into the stunned Slytherin's lap as she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.

"You're the sweetest boy I've ever met."

Draco smiled at her, the smile meant only for her and nobody else and he kissed her slowly and softly, one hand finding a resting place on her waist and the other hand on her knee.

"Well, just don't go around sprouting that out to just anyone. I have a Slytherin reputation to uphold."

"Are you almost through with your homework?"

He glanced around her at his homework sitting on the table.

"Hm, well I was thinking of adding a couple more inches..."

"Which means you're done! Come on, pack up, let's go!"

Hermione hopped off of his lap and started racing to put everything inside her bag as quick as she could. Draco could only stare at her in amusement as he put his belongings back inside his own bag. By the time he was done Hermione had her bag over her shoulder already and was waiting impatiently for him to finish, having already opened the door. He grinned at her as he slung his own bag onto his shoulder and together they walked out of their room together, Draco bending down to tug on that ridiculous book so the door could slide shut. They almost walked out of the restricted section together before Draco grabbed Hermione's hand and stopped her.

"Hold on a minute. Where are we going? What are we going to do?"

"Well, we could go to the Room of Requirement?"

"Boring. How about the dungeons?"

"Romantic."

"Come on, we could go to the Potion's classroom."

"Very charming."

"Well, I don't want to get caught on the seventh floor."

"Well, neither do I and I don't want to be cooped up inside this castle any longer."

"You're suggesting we go outside?"

"Yes."

"Where anyone could see us together?"

"There are places we could go where we can be hidden."

"Uh huh. Where is this place you speak of?"

"Look, Hagrid wont be back until Tuesday and he's set up his garden with all sorts of beautiful flowers. We'll grab some food from the kitchens, snag a blanket and have ourselves a picnic. It's a beautiful day outside and no one's going to be snooping around Hagrid's while he isn't here."

Draco smiled at his lovely, beautiful, genius, girlfriend and couldn't stop himself. He leaned in and gave her a sweet and gentle kiss right there at the entrance of the restricted section of the library. When he pulled away Hermione was smiling at him and she gave him a cute little peck on the corner of his lips.

"I'll go grab the blanket from my room while you get us a couple of snacks from the kitchens, yeah?"

"Sounds perfect."

Hermione smiled at him one last time before ducking underneath the rope and walking towards the library doors and heading up to Gryffindor Tower. Draco ducked underneath the rope as well and hurried off down to the kitchens. Neither of them noticed the boy in Quidditch attire who had ducked between bookshelves and who had seen everything.

Harry Potter knew that Hermione would be at the library and while the Quidditch game had ended very quickly with him catching the snitch, everyone had decided that another game was in order so Harry had hurried off to find Hermione so she could catch the second game. She hadn't been sitting in her usual spot but he could tell that someone was in the library and it had to be Hermione. So he had set off to find her and had come upon the restricted section where he heard voices talking. That was when he witnessed everything and before either of them could catch him he had hidden between the bookshelves and hoped they hadn't noticed him as he crouched down next to his new friends: Fowl or Foul? A Study of Hippogriff Brutality, Men Who Love Dragons Too Much, and Powers You Never Knew You Had and What to Do With Them Now That You've Wised Up. Harry glared at the books, angry and shocked at what he had just witnessed. He finally heard the last footsteps exit the library and the door softly thud shut. He slowly rose from his crouched position and mulled over what to do next. He figured his best option was to confront Hermione and ask her about it. He really did not appreciate her sneaking around. So he set off towards the seventh floor for the common room and he was going to be sure to run into Hermione this time. As he reached the portrait for the Gryffindor common room, said the password and stepped inside the open portrait he spotted Hermione holding a blanket. She froze at the sight of him but quickly relaxed and gave him a quick smile which he did not return.

"Harry! How was the game?"

"Just dandy. There's going to be a second one. I just came by to see if you were finished with your homework and had time to catch this one."

"Oh that's wonderful, but I was just head-"

"Hermione, I want to ask you about something disturbing that I just witnessed."

Hermione had been looking at him in the eyes but now she averted them and her posture stiffened. The steps she had been taking towards him stopped and he almost thought that she might start backing up and away from him.

"Would you like to guess what it was or do you already know?"

"Harry-"

"Why couldn't you have just told me?"

Hermione looked at him sadly and backed up to one of the red fluffy couches before plopping down on it rather ungracefully. He followed and sat on the couch next to her as she avoided his gaze.

"Harry, I know how you feel about Malfoy. And Ron would have killed him. So I, _we_ decided it was best to keep it a secret. For now, anyway."

"Hermione. If Malfoy is what makes you happy then I am more than willing to give him a second chance. I know Ron is a hot head but you're his best friend too and I'm sure he would understand. You shouldn't doubt us so much Hermione."

Hermione looked at him with shame clearly shown on her face but it was quickly snubbed by the happiness that spread across it. She leaned over and gave him a gigantic hug, squeezing the breath right out of him.

"Oh, Harry. I'm so happy! Look, I really have to go, I promised Draco that today would be just us. But I promise, tonight. You, me, and Ron will have a conversation about this. Just please don't tell Ron about Malfoy until then. Actually, don't tell anyone. And snag some Firewhiskey. We might need it."

"I promise. I'll see you tonight Hermione."

Hermione smiled at him and gave him one last hug before practically bouncing out of the common room. Harry smiled after his best friend and let out a sigh. He had a Quidditch game to get back to! With that thought he quickly hurried out of Gryffindor Tower, down the several flights of stairs and back out into the fresh spring air.

Once Hermione had left the portrait of the common room she had ran at full speed down stairways, hallways and even more stairs and had sped out the doors that would take her down the hill and towards Hagrid's cabin. By the time she reached the cabin her heart felt as if it might burst and she stopped and bent over to place her hands on her knees and catch her breath for a moment. She didn't know if Draco was there yet or not but he had to be because she hadn't spotted him while she was on her race to the cabin and it really did not take much time at all to grab a few snacks from the kitchen. So she went around the house towards the garden Hagrid had only recently planted. All the flowers were huge, the tallest ones standing at least four feet tall and Hermione smiled proudly. A perfect spot indeed to hide the two of them and a plus; it was beautiful. A wide array of vibrant colors and sizes and shapes and textures assaulted her eyes as she walked around and spotted a foot that could only belong to Draco. The scent coming from the flowers were mixing and created an intoxicating scent and Hermione immediately fell in love with the arrangement of flowers Hagrid had planted. Her boyfriend finally came into full view and he was already sitting down on the hard ground. When he saw her he quickly stood up and took the blanket from her arms with a smile and laid it upon the ground for them. It didn't matter that the blanket happened to be red and gold; at least he had his girl with him. He grabbed the basket full of goodies and set it on the side of the blanket closest to the flowers and Hermione and Draco sat with their backs to the forest so they could look at the flowers instead of the forest. Hermione cuddled up close to Draco and she gave him a kiss on the cheek but he noticed that she was still panting and seemed winded.

"Did you run here?"

"Yes."

"Anxious?"

"Yes."

"Will I get an explanation?"

"Yes. Wait, isn't the fact that I get to see you explanation enough as to why I ran down here?"

Draco grinned at her. Yes, she was a very lovely, beautiful, smart, _cheeky_ witch. And she was all _his_.

"Harry knows."

Draco's eyebrows shot up immediately, nearly flying off his face and he stared at her in shock. Harry knows. Harry knows. Harry knows. Of course Harry fucking Potter knows. Harry Potter knows absolutely everything.

"Don't be mad, Draco."

Hermione placed a comforting hand on his forearm but it didn't do much to help calm this...anger, frustration, betrayal, and dare he say it...fear. This was what he hadn't been looking forward to. This is what scared him most when he was alone and left to his thoughts that always led him in the worst possible direction: life without Hermione. Hermione was going to be taken away from him now and he didn't think he was ready to let her go. No. He knew he wasn't ready to let her go. He would not ever be able to let her go.

"He saw us. In the library. We thought everyone was at the game still but Harry caught the snitch way early and they decided to have a second game. He came looking for me in the library to see if I wanted to watch the second game and he saw us."

"So are you keeping me here so Weasley can come kick my ass?"

"Draco! Stop it! No one is coming to kick your ass. Harry and Ron are playing Quidditch and I am here with you. I'm trying to tell you that Harry is not mad about me seeing you. He was only mad that I lied. Funny, isn't it. I was so scared of their reaction when all Harry wants is for me to be happy..."

Draco visibly relaxed. Adrenaline from fear and nervousness had been racing through his veins and now that any threat was alleviated the adrenaline was gone and he suddenly felt weak and tired. He breathed in very loudly because he felt like he couldn't get enough air into his lungs and he breathed in until his lungs ached and finally let out a loud heaving sigh and flopped onto the ground on his back, his heart still pounding madly and Hermione staring at him with an amused smile on her face.

"Are you okay?"

Draco gave another sigh, this one was much more content and he dragged Hermione to lay down with him on the blanket so she laid her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat as he wrapped his arms around her. He wasn't really scared of a beat down by Potter or Weasley. He knew he would be able to stand his own until they wore him out. Honestly, he had been more scared for Hermione. He had been scared of losing her. He knew that Potter and Weasley were important to her and he knew that she was risking their friendships to be with him. Him! Of all people, Hermione had picked him. And he had always been afraid that the final confrontation would be Hermione choosing her friends over him. But that wasn't going to happen. Her stupid friends were fine with it as long as she was happy and he knew she was happy. He would always guarantee that she was happy. And as long as Hermione was happy, he was happy. And he knew that once word had gotten out, everything would eventually be okay, people would learn to accept it and that everything would fall perfectly into place. Everything was going to be just fine.

"I'm perfect."

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Holy hell. I tried to make this story as authentic as possible (with the floors and rooms and stuff) even though it's completely EWE and basically I just wanna say you can pretty much disregard everything you know about the Harry Potter series. Hahaha. I know you all probably don't even care about the specifics and probably don't remember that this room is on that floor and that statue is in this corridor (because even I don't, I researched it, hahaha) but it was important to me :) Honestly, I almost cried when I finished this. I'm a freak :) Hope you enjoyed!

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Review ;)


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